Bombino Biography & News

Bombino Details

About Bombino

Bombino's tour continues

As a now 34-year-old guitarist and singer from Niger, West Africa, Bombino remains an artist who continues to stand out in the crowd. In fact, critics and fans alike are raving over his ability to stay relevant in a field of musicians churning out the "desert blues."

Each of Bombino's three albums critics have called 'hard driving gems.' Most memorable was last year's "Nomad," which was Bombino's major-label debut on Warner Brothers imprint Nonesuch, produced by the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach. It landed on many year-end bests lists, including those from NPR, Rolling Stone, the CBC and iTunes.

Many will agree that Bombino sounds even better vocally as his career progresses, and he's been heralded for his work on the six-string compared to other blues artists like Tinariwen and Etran Finatawa. He recently told Rolling Stone, "I don't like to use a lot of effects or things like that, like a lot of guitarists. I like the pure, almost natural sound. It doesn't matter much which guitar I am playing. Now I play a Cort guitar that I really love. But usually I just plug it into the Fender amp and the sound that comes out is my sound."

Fans have had plenty of opportunities lately to hear Bombino live. He had a huge North American tour in 2014 that included stops at Coachella, New Orleans JazzFest, Austin Psych Fest, Tulsa Roots Music Bash and more. The live gigs rolled right through into 2015, so get your Bombino tickets now.

Bombino claims an international spotlight

Not many musicians have a story like that of Omara "Bombino" Moctar, a young Tuareg guitarist and songwriter raised during a time of armed struggles for independence and violent suppression by government forces.

Though the power of music, Bombino was said to have captured the spirit of the resistance. His guitar riffs have been compared not only to fellow Africans Tinariwen and Ali Farka Toure, but also to rock and blues icons like Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Page. And quickly, oh so quickly, he became a superstar in the Tuareg community thanks to the release of the 2011 album "Agadez." Just like that, Bombino became one of Africa's most revered young artists.

The success of his debut album pushed Bombino into the international spotlight. He next worked with The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, who began producing Bombino's sophomore album "Nomad." It was released by Nonesuch Records on April 2, 2013 and debuted at No. 1 on both the iTunes World Chart and Billboard World Chart.

Bombino began a concert tour of the United States in May 2013 which included stops at several major music festivals, including Bonnaroo and The Newport Folk Festival. He was also invited to open for Amadou & Mariam, Gogul Bordello and Robert Plant.

In 2014, Bombino has been tapped to play the Festival International de Louisiane alongside headliners like Radio Radio, the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars and Tinariwen. The Festival is officially scheduled for April 23 through April 27, though some events begin April 21.

News

July 21, 2014

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